Diary of Marie Bashkirtseff
CZENUKFR

Tuesday, 9 January 1883

Nervo came with the young man who will lead the cotillon to settle the details.
And then Coquelin cadet for the comedy — the elder is in St. Petersburg; it is there that he learned of Gambetta's death. The death of Gambetta — does that not seem to you sad and unjust?
For a week I have been plunging into reading about Gambetta, Mirabeau, and the Revolution. The French Revolution belongs to everyone — so I am not ridiculous in being passionate about these extraordinary events. I am left overturned by it; it is a fever that makes me forget everything, and in the evening they give me bouillon because I often cannot eat dinner.
If I could explain myself, I would say that I am in despair over Gambetta's death. I wept for the Little Prince as one weeps over a melodrama — it was tragic, above all touching — that child killed abroad, so far away... But what I weep for now I could only properly express if I had the honour of being French and the happiness of being a man.

Notes

Cotillon: the cotillon was the final and most elaborate set of figures at a formal ball, led by a designated gentleman. It required careful preparation and the choice of leader was a matter of social significance. ↩
Coquelin cadet: Ernest Coquelin (1848–1909), younger brother of the celebrated actor Coquelin aîné (Constant Coquelin), and a distinguished actor in his own right, famous for comic roles. He was engaged to perform at the Bashkirtseff soirée of the 12th. ↩
The Little Prince: the Prince Imperial, Napoléon Eugène Louis Bonaparte (1856–1879), only son of Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie. He was killed in Zululand while fighting with the British army against the Zulus — an obscure death in an alien land that struck the French imagination powerfully. ↩